First Hug
by Zerowing21
Summary: Holden has been living with the Utoniums for two days after his parents leave him, but what happens when he receives as something as simple as a hug from the Professor? How will he and the Professor react?


First off I'd like to thank Lighting Bird for beta reading this story. Thanks for the big help. She is also the one who suggest I write this one as well. I hope you enjoy this fic.

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><p><strong>First Hug<strong>

I was reading the newspaper on the couch in the living room when I hear the front door open. I put the paper down to see my three perfect little girls and my godson entering the house from their day at school at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. My pink-eyed, red-haired five-year old daughter, Blossom comes up to me after she enters the house with a smile on her face.

"I passed the math homework, Professor!"

I smile at her and bend down and pat her head, "Good job Blossom!"

My blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter, Bubbles flies up to me with her test and she had a drawing of herself and the family.

"I drew a picture of all of us, Professor. Oh, and I passed my homework," she said in her sweetest tone before she hands me her homework, which had a big eighty on it, and the drawing, which happened to be on the back.

I was in the center of the drawing and I was surrounded by Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. There was an absence of my godson, Holden in the picture. Holden had only been living with us for two days now, since his parents had asked me to take care of him and things were not going well. He had lost all his appetite and he has been depressed since he misses his parents. Lauren and Grifton had recently been assigned fieldwork by Exervent and they couldn't take him with them.

It didn't help in the slightest that he was in a new environment with complete strangers. Blossom had tried in her own way to make him feel at home here, but it hadn't seemed to work at all.

"Bubbles, why didn't you include Holden in this picture?"

Bubbles frowns. "That's because he's not a member of this family. He touched Octi without permission and I don't like him that much because of that. Even Buttercup thinks he shouldn't be a member of our family."

Bubbles' statement caused me to be taken aback for a few moments. Blossom had told me about the incident with Octi and how Holden didn't know it was hers. "Bubbles, just because he touched Octi by accident, isn't a reason for you not to like Holden."

My green-eyed, raven-haired daughter Buttercup floats into the living room at that moment and she has a smile on her face. She even has her homework in her hand and was looking extremely proud of herself.

"Buttercup, why don't you want Holden to be a member of our family?" I frown a little bit as she stopped to look at me with a bit of hate in her eyes.

"I don't like him, Professor. He's taking up all your time and all the attention that belongs to us for himself. He has his own family that can take care of him, so why isn't he with them?" As she talked, she put her hands on her hips.

I let out a small sigh after she answers. Buttercup and possibly Bubbles were jealous that I had been giving someone other than them attention. Blossom didn't seem to be having that issue at all and was even trying to help me some of the time. I wanted to spend a good deal of time with Holden tomorrow so I could make sure he was adjusting well.

I bend down so that I could talk to her. "Honey, Exervent won't allow his parents to take him into the field for work. I said I would take care of him. I'm not going to back down on my word."

I look up to see Holden at that moment slowly walking up the stairs to his room with his practice math sheet in his hand. Holden's eyes were all red and puffy like he had been crying. "Holden, are you alright?"

At hearing his name, Holden flinched a bit and runs up the stairs, dropping the paper behind him. I hear the door to his room open and then shut with a small slam. Why did he just take off like he had when I said his name? He had been acting like this for the past two days. It was possible that he was still scared of me and he was also scared of being here away from his parents. He must have over heard the way Buttercup and Bubbles had been talking about him and it only made things worse.

Blossom floats over to the stairs and picks up the practice math sheet and brings it over to me. She had a frown on her face and looked like she wanted to cry a bit.

"Sweetheart, did something happen at school today with Holden?"

Blossom nods and there was a sad look in her eyes, "He's miserable at school, Professor. The other kids like Elmer and Mitch, won't talk to him. They won't even play with him. When we had math worksheets to fill and Holden was filling out a the practice sheet, he became so frustrated that he started to cry and he hid in the corner the rest of the day. He didn't even take his nap since he was crying so hard."

Blossom lands on the couch and I sit down next to her and give her a hug. I start to worry a bit more because of what Blossom had just told me. Something was wrong with Holden, but what on earth could it be?

"Sweetheart, I'll make sure Holden is fine and gets settled in. I should get dinner started since it's late."

I stand up and go into the kitchen to make mash potatoes, carrots and some chicken nuggets. I was hoping that I could entice Holden to come eat with us tonight. The last meal he had eaten was lunch two days ago at school. I was halfway through preparation for dinner when I decided to go up stairs to get Holden. I try to open the door, but it was locked. I could hear the faint sound of crying.

I knock once and then speak. "Holden, it's almost time to eat dinner. Please come out. We want you to join us tonight."

The only sound I can hear is Holden's continues crying. I tried for several more minutes to get him to come out of his room, but he wouldn't come out.

Bubbles comes flying up the stairs at that moment. "Professor, the food is burning!" she said shrilly.

I open my eyes wide and run down the stairs quickly to find over cooked chicken nuggets and mushy carrots. The meal was salvageable; they just wouldn't like the carrots as much. I set the table half heartedly still worried about Holden. I set out all the food and the girls float into the kitchen and into their booster seats as to eat dinner. As we ate, I look at the empty booster seat that was for Holden. I was still wondering what was wrong with him.

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><p>After dinner was finished and after I gave the girls a bath, I turn on the news to catch the weather report, which called for a small storm tonight. If I kept the door open a bit for Bubbles so that the hall light would shine into the room, she wouldn't be scared at all. The rest of the evening passed rather quickly as the girls did their homework and played a bit. I went to Holden's room once more, but I couldn't get a peep out of him.<p>

I try the door handle to find it was unlocked. I slowly open the door to look into the room and I find that he was under his blanket fast asleep. I close the door softly so I would not wake him up. The girls float up the stairs and to their rooms and I come in a few moments later to tuck them in their bed.

"Good night, girls."

"Good night, Professor." came their three voices.

Bubbles was holding Octi tightly in her arms. "Professor, will you spend the entire day with us tomorrow? We want to go to the park and play with Robin!"

I shake my head, "I'm afraid I can't take you tomorrow Bubbles, I need to spend time with Holden so he finally gets adjusted to living here."

Bubbles pouts. "It's not fair that he's getting all the attention."

Buttercup scowls and folds her arms across her chest. "It's all about Holden lately, I can't stand it! Who cares about that squirt! He doesn't need you to pay attention to him!" She screams a bit in frustration.

"Buttercup, the Professor is just trying to make sure Holden gets everything he needs. Everyone needs attention, even him," Blossom said in her leader tone.

I sit down on the bed and put my hand on Buttercup's shoulder. "You have to accept that Holden is living with us. It's just as hard for him to get used to living with new people just as it is for the two of you getting used to him living here." I stand up and go to the door and turn off the lights.

"Sweet dreams, girls."

I close the door part way so Bubbles can have the light from the hall and I go to my room to change into my pajamas and get into bed so I can sleep.

I bolt up from a sound sleep to hear the sound of screaming. That shout didn't belong to Bubbles. The loud boom of thunder is heard as the storm passes over head. My window shakes and I hear that terrified yelp again. That scream was coming from Holden! I jump out of bed and dart to his room and enter to find the bed empty.

I look around and finally locate him in the corner, hugging his knees close to him and his eyes are open wide in terror.

"Holden are you alright?" I bend down to pick up him so I could calm him down.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

As soon as my arm was close enough to him, Holden lunged forward and bit my hand. I pull my hand back and shake it a bit. This wasn't my first time to have been bitten by a child, but it still hurt a bit. It was as if he didn't even recognize me since he was so scared.

"Holden, it's me! Professor Utonium. I won't hurt you."

As I get closer to him, he starts to scramble away toward another corner, but I manage to grab him around the middle and pick him up off the floor.

"PUT ME DOWN! LET GO OF ME!"

He was doing his best to try and wriggle out of my arms. I finally manage to hug him close to me, but he was still trying to get away.

"Holden, calm down! It's just a hug. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe." Holden stops struggling and I thought I saw his eyes open wide out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn't be certain from this angle. After a minute, I hear a small sob coming from him. I feel a flood of tears streaming down onto my shoulder.

His small body starts pressing into me to get closer to me and he starts to cry harder. What on earth was the matter with him? I had never seen a child respond this way to being hugged before. I wasn't sure what it was, but I had to find out what was wrong with him. He was my child now since he was left in my care by his parents.

"I'm sorry I bit you, Professor," said the low sobbing voice from over my shoulder.

A loud boom of thunder breaks the sound of sobbing and Holden screams and his body tenses as if he was in pain.

"It hurts!"

"The sound of the thunder hurts your ears?"

"Yes!"

Another crackling of thunder rolls past the house and Holden, still crying, screams again and digs his face into my shoulder.

"Shhhh. The storm is nearly over. You don't have to be scared by it or the sound."

The sound of the storm started to lessen in the next several minutes and the only sound that could be heard was the soft patter of rain and the light breathing of the boy in my arms. I look at Holden and notice that his eyes had just closed and he was fast asleep. I walk over to his bed and gently put him down on it and cover him with his blanket.

I had so much more work to do than I thought to help Holden get used to living here. I had to figure out exactly what was wrong with him to make him act like this. If something traumatic happened to him then this might explain the behavior, but I would have thought Lauren and Grifton would have told me if something like that occurred.

As I walk over to the door, I look back and notice Holden had curled up in ball. Tomorrow afternoon was going to be a busy day. As soon as I exit the hall, I see Buttercup floating there with a sour look on her face.

"This is why I don't want him here! He's taking attention that should be for us! He's just faking everything just to get someone to make him feel special."

"Buttercup, Holden wasn't faking. He was genuinely scared. You have to stop being jealous and accept that he will be sharing the attention between the four of you. Now go back to sleep, sweetheart."

Buttercup grumbles and goes back to her room. I sigh and I make my way back to my room, worried about how I would try and connect to my godson so he would feel at home here.

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><p>Deep within the mind of the boy named Holden, the sky was still dark and the child sat alone by himself curled in a ball, crying. The sounds of footsteps could be heard and he looked up to see someone dressed in a lab coat walking over to him.<p>

The man named Professor Utonium bends down and picks him up into his arms and gives Holden a hug. A feeling trust, safety, and being wanted fills the boys heart and a smile appears and happy tears run down his face. He finally felt like he has a place to call his own.

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><p>I hope you've enjoyed this one shot. I know it was rather late and I've been slow on the writing. I've been busy working as a Mod over on . I'm thinking of writing a one shot where Ben just has a bad day and it get worse when Tessa shows up to beat the snot out him.<p> 


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